By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) – The Air Force on Tuesday announced its first F-35 fighter squadron combat ready, marking a major milestone for a program that has far surpassed budget and delivery estimates.
“I am proud to announce this powerful new weapons system has achieved initial combat capability,” Gen. Hawk Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said in a statement.
The planes are the A variant, which is the smallest and lightest model and are the only ones equipped with an internal Gatling cannon.
The 34th Fighter Squadron of the 388th Fighter Wing will be stationed at Utah’s Hill Air Base.
The planes will be jointly flown and maintained by the squadron and Air Force reservists from the base’s 419th Fighter Wing.
“We’re very proud that the Air Force has declared us combat ready and we’re prepared to take this aircraft wherever it’s needed in support of our national defense,” Col. David Lyons, commander of the 388th Fighter Wing, said in a statement.
The Air Force is the second military branch to certify a squadron of the fifth generation fighters combat ready. The Marine Corps first did so in July 2015.
Lockheed-Martin’s single-seat multirole fighter program is the most expensive weapons program in U.S. history and has long been dogged by cost overruns and technical concerns.
Most recently, light and middleweight pilots had been warned of increased chances of neck injury while ejecting from the aircraft, and glitches with the plane’s onboard software programs have resulted in takeoff delays, and unprompted mid-flight reboots.
Pilots had reportedly noted an improvement to software stability during training in June and the Pentagon is said to be weighing an ejection seat alternative.
The F-35 program has cost the U.S. an estimated $1.5 trillion.
Turkey is the only country in the Middle East that will fly the warplane besides Israel. They are joined among international buyers by Australia, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea.
